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1700176470London: Printed by the Assigns of Richard and Edward Atkyns Esquires for John Walthoe 1700. The first English treatise devoted exclusively to family law First edition in an exceptionally well-preserved binding of this oft-cited work on the legal position of women in 17th- and 18th-century England and a key summary of the social mechanisms underpinning such works as The Taming of the Shrew. "Baron and Feme" refers to the legal fiction that husband and wife shared one legal personhood. The anonymous author of this treatise draws heavily on Sir Edward Coke's edition of Littleton aiming to codify and explain family law "in all the Circumstances of Life from the Solemnization of Marriage to the Divorce" p. vi. "Although written in English at a time when many law books were still published in Latin and law French it was clearly intended for a legally trained reader" Glover p. 75. This copy includes extensive ink annotations in an 18th-century hand suggesting a similar level of legal training. The annotations mainly cite other legal reference works but they also explicate several points of law and invoke others to challenge assertions in the text. The notes on the rear blank verso for instance observe that "the Wife's Portion consisting of Choses in action shall not upon ye husb's death be liable to his debts tho' ye husb: before marriage had made an adequate Jointure on her". Further editions appeared in 1719 and 1738. Octavo 192 x 115 mm pp. xxxii 380 misprinting pp. 178-9 182-3 186-7 and 190-1 as 162-3 166-7 170-1 and 174-5 36. Contemporary calf spine ruled in black and lettered in black manuscript covers with double fillet in black. Housed in custom green morocco book-form case. With 18th-century ink annotations and infrequent underlining to contents and rear blank verso. One corner just worn at tip infrequent brown marks to several pages contents otherwise bright and fresh: a fine copy. ESTC R6177; Wing B899. Susan Glover Engendering Legitimacy: Law Property and Early Eighteenth-century Fiction 2006. unknown